Yendi

Yendi (1984) Steven Brust

Yendi is the second book in Steven Brust’s Vlad Taltos series, however, in the time line it comes before the first book, Jhereg. Instead of taking off from where Jhereg left off, we go back in time, to when Vlad met Cawti, his future wife.

Yendi are devious and delight in intricate plots, and so the plot of Yendi is intricate and devious. Someone is trying to take over Vlad’s territory, and seems willing to take any means necessary to gain that territory. However, the more Vlad looks into what is happening, the more suspicious he becomes of what is going on.

I also love the fact that he throws in little jokes, such as the following exchange:

“Vladimir,” said Cawti, “how should we approach (the sorceresses)?”
“Yes,” said Morrolan dryly. “You wouldn’t want her to turn you into a newt.”
“I’ll get better,” I said.

One thing I hate, however, is the cover of this book. Vlad is described as black haired, with a mustache, and wearing Jhereg black and grey. The individual on the book is red haired, clean shaven, and wearing white and purple. I’d have thought that it was supposed to be a different character, except for the jhereg on his shoulder. Bah. Unfortunately, the reissues are just as bad, with the same, red-haired impostor on the covers. How miserable.

Luckily, the quality of the cover does not reflect upon the quality of the contents. Vlad, Aliera, Sethra Lavode, and Morrolan are again wonderful. I love Steven Burst’s characters. I don’t know how he does it, but the dialog is sharp and witty, although I have to admit that I prefer the parts with Morrolan and Aliera more than when Vlad is dealing with his enforcers. It’s not that he doesn’t get the wise-guy banter right. I just prefer the other.

Although Jhereg is the best place to start the Vlad Taltos series, you could certain start here without any difficulty if you so desired.
Rating: 9/10

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